Dr. Ayman Shamlakh was shot and killed on Sunday in front of his patients at his clinic. The confession of the suspect, who was later arrested, was recorded at the Makkah General Court on Tuesday.
The suspect told investigators that after he decided to kill the dentist a few weeks ago, he would go to the clinic carrying a gun and look for an opportunity to enter the doctor’s consulting room unseen by others. On several occasions he left the clinic because the dentist was attending to a patient at the time, Al-Madinah daily reported on Wednesday.
Tired of trying to capture the dentist alone, the suspect said he forced his way into the clinic and fired at Shamlakh's head point blank and then fled the scene. The suspect, who was not identified by name in the report, did not disclose the motive of the crime in his confession.
The suspect's wife said she noticed her husband behaving strangely, but when she asked what the problem was he replied that it was none of her business. Police seized two guns, one of them unlicensed, from the suspect's house.
Fehaid Al-Nafaei, the patient who was present with the victim at the time of the murder, said he went to the clinic with his five-year-old son.
“I heard a knock on the clinic’s door when the doctor was removing my wisdom tooth. He asked the nurse who was assisting him to open the door. Seconds after that I heard gunfire and the doctor fell to the floor with a cry,” he said.
Al-Nafaei said blood spewed from the wound, causing his son to cry. He added that he wanted to restrain the gun-toting man but was scared that the man might shoot him as well.
He said the gunman then ran toward a window and disappeared. In the meantime, others were trying to rescue the doctor. He was taken to Al-Noor Hospital where he was declared dead.
